During the popular Bob Hartley’s reign as Avalanche coach, he occasionally displayed his old-school devotion to the principle of “sending messages” in the final stages of blowout games. Especially given the talent-laden nature of his roster, it was discordant and even counterproductive, and it was a major blot on what otherwise was his praiseworthy run as head coach – a run that ended too soon.
But Hartley wasn’t the major culprit in the Thrashers’ final-minutes brawling with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night in Washington. That dishonor went to Washington coach Glen Hanlon, who had the last change, sending out Donald Brashear for the ensuing faceoff after Atlanta’s Andy Sutton had been called for high sticking with 1:22 remaining in the Thrashers’ 4-2 win.
Before the puck was dropped, Brashear went after Atlanta’s Vitaly Vishnevski, who at first didn’t even try to fight back and was bloodied. And because running down all the details would be a waste of space, I’ll just say the rest of the game was intermittent stupidity, and Hanlon several times challenged Hartley to fight.
This kind of stupidity was the reason the NHL installed the rule (and, informally, the Gretzky Exemption) calling for fines and suspensions for instigating fights in the final five minutes. For the most part, it has worked, and the league deserves credit for that.
But when the violation is so egregious and disdainful of the league rule, as this was, the NHL needs to come down much harder. Hanlon should have been fined far more than $30,000. Commissioner Gary Bettman used a discretionary aspect of the rule to add a couple of games to Brashear’s automatic one-game suspension, but Brashear – who knows his job and how he can stay in the league – and others needed to be sent a clear message.
The rule isn’t perfect. It begs the question of how a league can, in effect, draw implications about a coach’s intentions when he puts out legitimate members of his roster in the final minutes, especially in a blowout. And the answer is: It’s obvious sometimes, and if mayhem breaks out in the wake of the selections, the cost should be prohibitive.
Attendance
There has been much hand-wringing over the slight drop in attendance this season, and many reasons cited, but the discussion often ignores one of the biggest factors: The 2004-05 lockout season. It just took a year for the effects to show up, both in Denver and around the league.
Season-ticket holders mostly were nursed through the lockout itself, with their deposits in the team’s accounts. They let their money sit, and then remained faithful as season-ticket holders through the 2005-06 return season.
The true decision-making moments of truth came in the spring of 2006.
Avalanche items
With Jordan Leopold expected to make it into the Avalanche lineup soon after recovering from offseason sports hernia surgery, Colorado coach Joel Quenneville will have to make Ossi Vaananen or Patrice Brisebois a healthy scratch most nights – if everyone remains healthy. Because of what the Avalanche gave up to get Vaananen (Derek Morris, acquired for Chris Drury) and because of what it is paying Brisebois ($3 million), that will require some pride swallowing and tolerance from the front office.
Also, when Wojtek Wolski was a healthy scratch against Anaheim and Quenneville later said Paul Stastny has been “OK” lately – that’s his code expression for “rotten” – it was a reminder that the Avs miss Steve Konowalchuk, who retired after his training-camp physical detected a heart problem, even more than they could have foretold.
The media corner
Saturday night’s Vancouver-Colorado game was the second half of the “Hockey Night in Canada” doubleheader on the CBC. Long a national tradition, the HNIC telecasts are fiercely independent. Broadcasters, whether during the game itself or in such segments as Don Cherry’s “Coach’s Corner,” aren’t shy about criticizing the league or the product.
On most other nights in the NHL, in part because of the limited number of games shown nationally in the United States under the current deals with Versus and NBC, the television product has an “in-house” feel.
The NFL jumped into that realm to an extent Thursday, with the Broncos-Chiefs national telecast on the NFL Network. It’s the NFL’s network. Those working for it are beholden to the league.
Fans in the NHL and other sports have been more a part of a similar phenomenon for years, with teams having greater control over the television product. In Denver, because Kroenke Sports also owns cable’s Altitude Sports and Entertainment Network, Nuggets and Avalanche games televised there are in-house, team-friendly products. When members of the Denver media also do freelance work for Altitude, it means consumers have the right to challenge those accepting the checks that they won’t pull their punches when discussing the Kroenke franchises.
It’s a tightrope, and I salute the many who are able to walk it, such as Peter McNab and the others who maintain credibility and retain the trust of consumers. But it’s not a cheap shot to point out that consumers should be healthily skeptical when evaluating the pronouncements of broadcasters or reporters who have direct (paycheck) ties to teams and leagues.
“Hockey Night in Canada,” with its deep-rooted ties to tradition and its frequent ties to some painfully archaic viewpoints, is wonderfully independent. And that’s becoming increasingly rare, both in the NHL and in major-league sports, period.
Terry Frei can be reached at 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
